Advance Wars: Operation Desert World
by Wallshadow
Summary: Sturm's been wooped again. But where did the factories and labs go to? And what is behind the trouble on Desert World. Chapter 4 is up. Sorry it took so long, I ran into a big old patch of writers block. Next chapter Andy comes in.
1. Prolouge: The Next Frontier

Advanced Wars: Operation Desert World

Ch.1 The Next Frontier

            There lies a planet in the same solar system as Wars World that has been capable of supporting life. The planet is known as Dunes for desert-like geography that it has. In fact 90 percent of it is desert and the rest are small oasis's that were few and far between. Because of this trademark it was never truly settled by anybody. There are a few people who live out there, such as drifters, fur trappers, bandits, and such but even they are scarce. So, why would this land even be mentioned? Because of that exact point. Because no one who lived on Dunes cared about much. It was the perfect place to lay low for a while or hide something. The lawmen who lived on that planet could not do a good job of keeping track of criminals because the desert winds would often blow up out of no where and stop them. 

            And it was on this little island of a planet that a dark force was stored and waited to be unleashed upon the universe.


	2. Chapter 1: Trouble in Macro Land

Chapter 2 

** Trouble in Macro Land**

            "What do you mean you couldn't find any remnants of Sturms factory in Macro Land!?" Nell asked the slightly startled Colonel.

            "Well, 'just like I said, it's gone." The colonel repeated.

            "And what happened to it? Did it just sprout legs and walk away?"

            "I don't know but—"

            "Commander Nell!" Sami yelled rushing into the room then standing at attention.

            "What is it Sami?" Nell asked.

            Sami relaxed he stance and hurried over to Nell's desk. "Ma'am the factory and lab which were left in Orange Star have disappeared." She put a file on Nell's desk and opened it up to pictures of the scene and several different documents that contained information on most everything that had to do with the factory and the lab.

            As they were conferring over the situation Max ducked under the top of the doorway and walked into the room looking at a paper in his hand and scratching his head. "Uh, Nell?"

            "Yes Max?" Nell said looking up.

            "Uh, this may sound really weird but we just received faxes from all the other country in Wars World saying that the factories and labs in their lands have just disappeared."

            "So this isn't just Orange Star who's experienced this," Nell thought aloud.

            "What do you think we should do Ma'am?" Sami asked.

            "Are you sure there were no track marks or remains of the factory or anything like that, Sami?"

            "All the reports say is that there are no remains of the factory and the photos seem to indicate that there were no tire or tread marks, but I'm willing to go down there and do a follow up on it. Perhaps I may be able to spot something that we missed."

            "Good idea Sami. I would appreciate it if you went down there and investigated the site."

            "Yes Ma'am." Sami said and then left with a salute.

            "What do you want me to do Nell?" Max asked.

            "Could you call up all the other counties CO's and request that they attend a meeting here tomorrow?"  
            "'That it?"

            "No, could you also tell Andy to come to my office?"

            "Sure."

            "Thanks Max."

            "No problem." Max ducked back under the door and out into the hall.

            "And as for you," Nell said turning back to the Colonel standing in the corner, "I want you to get over to Special Ops room and ask tell Sami that you'd be happy to clean off her gear."

            "What!? But Ma'am! What did I do to deserve this? Please don't make me! That's a job for a scrub!" The colonel objected.

            "Is that back-talk I hear? If you ever want to become a top rank CO you need to learn not to talk back to superior officers. It just so happens that I've been receiving a couple of complaints from some of the men under your command. They say that you've gotten a little too big of a head since you became the CO over their regiment. CO's aren't supposed to be people who boss others around. To be a CO is to serve your country and that includes your own men. I think its about time you had a little reminder of what it means to be a member of the army. As of o-five hundred hours tomorrow you will be under CO Sami's command. And I would not suggest being late. She doesn't appreciate tardiness. Do I make myself clear Colonel Kannon?"

            The dazed colonel stared at Nell for a moment then picked up is jaw and mumbled, "Yes," and headed towards the door.

            "I don't believe I've dismissed you yet." The colonel turned back around and did his best to raise his head and stand at attention. "That's better. Now, do I make myself clear colonel?"

            "Ma'am, yes Ma'am!" Kannon said with all the enthusiasm he could muster (which was not much).

            "Very good. You're dismissed."


	3. Chapter 2: CO Vip

Chapter 3  CO Vip 

            "Sami?" Nell said opening the door to Sami's 'office'.

            The truth was that it was simply Sami's bedroom and not an office but Sami did her best to keep it looking like one. Sami had always wanted an office but they had never been given the opportunity to add onto the base and give the higher up CO's their own office, Nell was the only one. So instead Sami kept her room extremely clean and had a desk moved in along with a filing cabinet. There was not much space in her room to begin with and with the added furniture it had become very cramped. There was only about two feet of space between her desk, which was in a corner and the wall behind it.  The cabinet was about a foot away from the desk and against her bed, which spread the width across the room and was against the wall. She then had a dresser, which stood against the wall next to her bed and across from the desk. There were no windows in the room and a fan on the roof and the desk lamp at her desk gave off the only light. Sami had been wondering about when she would actually get the office she had been promised when Nell had walked in.

            "Yes Ma'am?" Sami said standing up.

            "You need to relax a little more Sami," Nell said with a smile. "You're the only one who ever acts like that all the time."

            "Sorry." Sami said sitting back down.

            "Don't worry about it. What are you working on?" Nell asked as she walked over to the desk where Sami had a stack of papers spread out.

            "I was just going over the reports and the pictures some more. I would like to try and figure out what exactly to be looking for tomorrow."

            "What's with the big red circle and question mark?"

            "That's where the factory should be, but I can't seem to find anything that would suggest that it was ever there. Perhaps it's just the photograph though."

            Nell pondered over that fact for a few seconds then returned to the reason she had come to Sami's 'office'. "Sami, do you remember the CO that was standing in my office when you came in?"

            "Yeah, he looked kind of familiar. I think I might have been in the same regiment as him before."

            "That's right. He's from CO Vip's regiment."

            Sami cringed. CO Vip, or Whip as his men called him when he was in the army, had been one of the meanest CO's Sami had ever encountered. He was always demanding more respect than could be given. If you didn't get close to what he expected then he would put you on his notorious 'Whip death challenge' which he had some of his senior soldiers run.

            It would begin after roll call with a five-mile hike. After the hike you had to run the obstacle course 5 times. If you made it through both you were then forced to run 1 mile for every word you spoke that was disrespectful, so just for saying 'But sir-' when he told you that you were going to do the challenge you had to run two miles. If you didn't finish one of the three things by twenty-four hundred hours he would have you do it all over again the next day and that thing twice. On top of all that you received a duty you had to fulfill. These ranged from the Mess duty (helping the cook and cleaning everything after each mess), to Camp duty (cleaning up all the trash around the camp that Vip seemed to have 'accidentally' dropped and packing and unpacking all of the extra equipment at every new location), to the dreaded Vip duty (getting him whatever he wanted when he wanted, doing whatever he wanted when he wanted and cleaning his boots and other equipment till they were clean enough to read the reflection of a ten font book). Which ever it was you had to do it for 2 weeks times the number of times you ran the course.

If you had been in his regiment for a month you wouldn't think this too strict. He would always boss his soldiers around and worked them till they were too tired to make it back to their tents. He had worked Sami and the other girl in his regiment the hardest. It was his philosophy that women shouldn't be involved in war and he succeeded in running some of the other girls that had been in his ranks during previous years out of the army. Sami didn't think that this was right and she voiced her opinion one night during the evening mess. It had out-raged him. Sami did manage to get the other girl a little less harsh treatment, but that was only because Vip forgot that the girl even existed and began to focus completely on running Sami out of the Army. Sami was forced to run the challenge for the next month because the amount of words she had tried to use to defend her position equaled too many miles to run the next day and the miles just began to multiply because she could never finish them. She was assigned all the duties that Vip could think up. Here days soon fell into a pattern, she would do the challenge for 2 days in a row then to a duty the next. Sami tried to keep her spirits up and got a little help from the other girl in the regiment but soon Vip had the girl transferred out of the regiment.

During one of the days of the last week of the first month Sami had been undergoing the torture assigned to her Vip asked her to run an errand for him. Turns out he had been in a bad mood the day before and had the rest of the regiment running the challenge. He couldn't ask anyone else because it would seem that he was letting someone off the hook but he could ask Sami because the truth was that she hadn't done anything in the past three weeks to be disrespectful. She had done everything she was asked to do to the letter and had been as polite as she could possible be. This was like a vacation for Sami even though she still had to do a lot of things. She had gone down to head quarters and was waiting to have some papers returned to her when Nell saw her. At this point, between all the times she spent running the challenge and the meager meals she ate, Sami wasn't exactly looking too good.

Nell was a rising CO at the time and had the respect of many of the other CO's. Sami jumped out of her seat and stood at attention when she saw Nell approaching her.

            "At ease," Nell had said in a pleasant voice, something Sami had not heard in a while. Sami was thrown off a bit and stood there uneasily not sure of what to do. After a moment Nell said, "Go ahead, sit back down." Sami obeyed but didn't say anything. She new from a couple of bad experiences with Whip that if she spoke without being asked to she would regret it. "So, what's your name?"

            "Private Sami, Ma'am."

            Nell was a little humored by that fact that someone would still act like they were at attention when they were told to be at ease. She found out why when she asked, "What regiment are you with?"

            "CO Vip's regiment, Ma'am."

            _Hmm, that explains a lot. CO Vip is known for his well-behaved troops,_ Nell thought to herself. _Of coarse I have heard that he works them rather hard but it looks like I underestimated just how much by the looks of this girl._ She then said aloud, "So, how does he treat you all?"  
            Sami weighed her choices in her mind. She could tell this well known and respected CO that she admired the truth: that Whip was one of the worst CO's she had ever met and that he treated the girls in his regiment a lot worse than the boy, not that he didn't treat the boys very badly either. Or she could tell Nell that everything was great and that it was a little harder than she expected. If Nell did something about it or if Whip ever found out that she told Nell then Sami could say good-bye to those third day duties that she used to store up some energy for the next two days of the death challenge.

            "Well?" Nell pressed.

            "Your not supposed to talk about your CO when he's not in the room." Sami said trying to stall for more time to make up her mind.

            "You don't have to worry about anything. This is just between you and me, Ok?"

            Sami wasn't sure if she could trust Nell with the secret. 

            Seeing that Sami was beside herself on what to say Nell decided to change the subject, "Hey, how about I take you over to the Cafeteria and grab some food for us? You look like you haven't eaten in days."

            Sami knew this was another thing that Whip would dislike if he ever found out about it. "I don't think I should. CO Whip, I mean Vip wanted me to head right back with the papers and I'll probably be getting them back anytime now. I should be here when they get done them."

            "Anything that gets done in here usually take at least an hour to do. We can go grab something to eat and be back here with plenty of time to spare," Nell reassured her.

            "I don't know."

            "Come on, the worst that could happen is that your not here when they hand them back, then all that would happen is that they would hold onto them till you get back. That's what they do for me all the time."

            Sami could think of several other things that could happen but she didn't want Nell to become any more suspicious than she already was. Besides, its not every day that you get to eat with a top ranking CO Sami reasoned. "Alright, but I can't take a lot of time. CO Vip wanted me back right away."

            Sami sat down at one of the back tables of the cafeteria and Nell went to get the food. Sami looked around very carefully to make sure that there was no one who would know her and be good friends with Whip. Nell came back a few minutes later with two full trays of food. Sami's eyes got as big as watermelons as Nell put one tray in front of her.

            "Is that for me, Ma'am?" Sami asked and hoped that it was.

            "Yes it is." Nell said with a smile.

            "Thank you, Ma'am!" Sami exclaimed picking up a fork and knife.

            "I wasn't sure of what you liked so I—" Nell began but was cut short as Sami dove into the food and began eating ravenously. Nell could only look on in a mixture of astonishment and humor.

            Sami caught herself halfway through the burger Nell had bought her and blushed. "Sorry," Sami said through her embarrassment as she straightened herself in the chair to a more formal position. 

            They continued on through their meal peacefully. Nell asked a couple generic question here and there and Sami answered them in between bites. As Sami was finishing the last of her meal Nell finally decided to ask the question again.

            "So, um, how does Vip treat all of you?"

            Sami looked up and the tug of war started up in her mind again. The only difference this time was that Sami actually _knew_ Nell know and that's what made all the difference.

            "He doesn't treat us well at all, especially not me." Sami said glumly knowing that she would soon regret telling Nell.

            "Really?" Nell asked.

            Sami proceeded to tell Nell everything. Nell was shocked at the way Vip treated his troops and how he discriminated against Sami. In the end Nell sent Sami back to her regiment and promised to stop by with some other CO's the following day.

            Sami was forced to run the death challenge again the next day. She was making her way out of the woods when she saw Nell and a couple other CO's talking to Vip. Vips troops were standing off to one side and looked like they were about to jump out of their skins with excitement. Nell saw Sami looking out from behind one of the trees and called her over. After a short questioning which, to Sami felt like forever, Vip command over the regiment was removed and he was asked to pack up his stuff and head home. The rest of the regiment let out a burst of joy that was cut short by a glance from Vip. Sami hadn't cheered but she received a stare from Vip that she knew meant death.

***

            "Sami?"

            Nell's voice shook Sami out of her daydream. She was in her 'Office' and Nell was sitting on the bed.

            "I'm sorry what was that?" Sami asked.

            "I said, 'I have decided to relieve Kannon of his command over his troops.' It seems to me that he had inherited some traits from Vip."

            "Oh, really?"

            "Yes. In fact I have reassigned him to your regiment."

            "What? Why?" 

            "I decided to do it because I think he needs to be reminded of what it's like to be under another persons command. Listen, I just want you to take him along with you to Macro Land. I also want you to be rough on him."

            "But Nell, you know I don't like to do that. Sure I always make sure that I'm strict with my troops, after all this is life and death, but I never go out of my way to 'beat up' on someone."

            "I know that Sami. It's just that he was a great soldier when he first came out of Vip's regiment, I just think he needs to be reminded of what it's like to be pushed around by your superior."

            "Why couldn't you get Andy or Max to do it?"

            "Well, because I don't think that Max would know when to stop pushing Kannon around and I don't think that it's possible for Andy to be anymore than happy and free-hearted."

            Sami stared at the maps on her desk for a moment and then look up at Nell. "Alright, I'll do it," she said with a little bit of sadness in her voice.

            "Great!" Nell said getting up and heading to the door. "Thanks, I owe you one."

            "Hey, Nell." Sami said as Nell grabbed the door handle.

            "Yeah Sami?" Nell turned to Sami.  
            "I was just wondering, have you heard anything about those offices yet? I mean it has been quite a while since we requested them."

            "No Sami, I haven't. We really shouldn't be bugging the higher ups about it, they've had a lot to deal with lately."

            "I know, it's just that we did go and win two wars for them. I just figured that we've earned them by now."

            "I promise I'll ask them for you tomorrow, Ok?"

            "Thanks Nell."

            "No problem."


	4. Chapter 3: The New Recruit

Chapter 4  The New Recruit 

            "Kannon!" Sami barked at him as he was walking up to where she and her troops stood.

            Kannon ran quickly up to Sami and stood at attention. "Yes Ma'am."

            "Do you know what time it is Kannon?" Sami asked in a shout.

            "Um. No." Kannon said looking around.

            "I'll tell you what time it is Kannon! It is five past five! You are late!"

            "But Ma'am, it's only five minutes."

            "Five minutes Kannon!? In my line of work if you are any more that half a minute late you are too late! By that time your comrades are dead. Being any more than 1.5 minutes late means that they're dead and you're about to join them. Do I make myself clear!?"

            "Ma'am, yes Ma'am!"

            "You will always be early to roll call or you will run along-side the truck. Is that clear Kannon?"

            "Ma'am, yes Ma'am!"

            "Now get in line." Kannon scurried over to the front of the line in front of a big, mean looking soldier. "We go by rank Kannon, right now your standing in front of my second in command. You were the last in my regiment and therefore have not established a rank among my squad yet. Get to the back of the line." Kannon hurried to the back of the line. Seeing that everything was all right Sami continued. "We are heading up to where the factory in Orange Star used to be to see if we can't sort this out any more. We'll leave in fifteen so make sure you're packed and ready for the trip. You're dismissed."

            Sami headed over to the truck where she already had her equipment while the other seven and Kannon walked off to building where all their stuff was stowed. Once inside the guys went to their individual lockers and opened them.

            "So, new guy, what do you think so far?" The guy next to Kannon asked. 

            "Sami sure is going a little tougher on me than I expected." Kannon stated.

            "Don't worry 'bout it, normally she's not that tough. I think she's just doin' it to straighten you out a little. No offense or nuttin' but you sure were cocky when you first got here," he then extended his hand. "They call me Art P.G., I specialize in explosives."

            "Nice to meet you," Kannon said shaking his hand.

            Art began pointing out guys around the room and explaining them. Each gave a little wave as he said their name, "That over there's Mech-Mike, he's specializes in the heavy duty equipment. Over there's Roll Over, he's a tank expert, almost as good as Max too. See that guy in the corner, we call him Wiz Kid, he handles all the computer hacking and stuff like that. That's Ms. Sile right next to him, she knows just about everything to do with missiles including how to get the most out of them. Double E is standing over there; it's stands for Eagle Eye. He's our sniper but we also use him for recon a lot. That big guy that you stood in front of earlier is Cap, short for captain, ya know? He's good at pretty much everything. Don't worry he's fun to be around once you get to know him, just don't cut in line and you'll be Ok. The truth is that this is one of the bigger Special Forces groups on the planet, but somehow we make it work. By the way, what do you specialize in?"

            "Well, uh," Kannon said as he tried to think of something impressive to say. "I'm an excellent CO."

            Everybody in the room started cracking up. Kannon's face turned beat red and he quickly turned back to his locker and continued packing up. Art leaned on Kannon for some support as he laughed, then he regained his composure and said to Kannon, "Bud, anybody can be a good CO, all you have to do is lead people around. How 'bout you give up the 'I'm important' and actually tell us what you like to do."

            Kannon turned towards Art and looked at him and wondered whether or not he should risk being laughed at again.

            Art read his mind and reassured him, "Don't worry, we won't laugh again."

            "Well, the truth is that I don't really like to do anything in particular. I'm just a soldier really, that's just what I do."

            "Don't worry. By the time we get done with you you'll have something you specialize in too."

***

            Everything had been loaded into the back of the truck and everyone was now sitting back there on the benches with the exception of Cap who was driving. The guys had accepted Kannon into their little group and he now joined them in a game of black jack. They had stacked up some backpacks and used that as a table. Sami sat in the corner silently going over the maps some more. They drove all night and only stopped twice, once to change drivers so that Cap could get some rest and the second to refill the gas tank. They arrived at the site the following morning around nine o'clock.

            Sami hopped out of the back of the truck and walked over to a CO who had stepped out of his tent to greet them.

            "Good morning Ma'am!" The CO said cheerfully and saluted.

            "Good morning to you too Mitch." Sami said with a returned salute.

            "I guess you've come to take a look around?"

            "Yep."

            "Well, if you have any questions, give a holler." CO Mitch said as he retreated back to the shade of his tent.

            Sami headed back to the truck where everyone was unloading the stuff and setting up camp. She grabbed her stuff and started to set up her tent. A minute later Cap had finished his tent and had started familiarizing himself with the surroundings. Kannon watched as Cap walked away then turned his gaze back to Sami who was still unpacking everything.

            Kannon turned towards Art who he was bunking with and whispered to him, "I was just wondering, why isn't Cap the CO of this regiment?"

            Art turned to Kannon and gave a little laugh. " 'Cause then the best soldier would be stuck second in command."

            "What do you mean? I've been watching Cap and it seems to me that he gets everything done faster and more efficiently."

            "That may be, but Sami's still a better fighter, strategist, and politician. Did you see how she just walked up to that other CO and started talking to him? Cap doesn't like talking to people he doesn't know. He's kinda shy."

            "Really?"

            "Yep."

            Kannon glanced back at Cap. "Maybe, but I still can't believe that Sami's a better fighter than him."

            "Believe it. I can remember the first day she was transferred to out regiment."

***

            Nell had led Sami into the Special Forces Training Room only a week after Vip was relieved of his command over the regiment. The truth was that all the time Sami had spent running the death challenge had strengthened her and, in Nell's opinion, had made her good enough to enter the Special Forces Training Program. Nell was excited about it, if Sami made it in she would be the first female ever to go through Special Forces Training. Sami was a bit afraid of going into SFT. She figured it might be like being under Vip's command. 

            "How are you doing Hachi?" Nell said approaching the man with a rag on his head.

            "Great." He said with a smile as he turned around. They saluted each other. "Is this the new recruit?" He said turning to Sami.

            "Sir, yes Sir!" Sami said snapping into attention.

            "My your rather tightly strung, aren't you? No need to be so formal right now though I do appreciate it." Hachi said with a smile. He then whispered to Nell, "A tad petit don't you think Nell?"

"She only looks it, she's a lot stronger than she looks." Nell whispered back.

"Well, are you ready for the entrance test?" Hachi asked turning back to Sami.

            "Yes Sir."

            "You were signed on for CO special training so it's a bit more than what other people have to do." Hachi began.

Nell looked up at Nell in shock. Did Nell actually think that Sami could be a good CO? It made Sami feel a lot less intimidated by the other tough looking guys who were around the room. If her role model believed she could do it then Sami must really be able to.

Hachi smiled as he saw the look of surprise on Sami's face, he had figured as much. "Well then, let me explain it to you. It is comprised of three parts: the written test to test your knowledge of equipment and procedures, which you already completed and I am proud to say you received the second highest test score in the history of the test (don't worry though, you were only out scored by me and no one can blame you for that), the Obstacle Course to measure your physical ability, and finally the War Field which will measure your ability to command your troops and strategize. Are you sure you are up for the challenge?"

            "I will try my hardest Sir!"

            "Good!"

            "Hey Kid! Don't worry about beating this record," one of the guys standing on the sideline said. "Cap got's this record locked up tight." He jerked his finger over to a big muscular guy sitting over in the corner.

            The guy's cheeks seemed to turn a little bit of red and he turned his face a little but the sternest on his face stayed where it was. Sami noticed this and decided that perhaps he wasn't really as tough as he looked.

            "Don't let them discourage you," Hachi said putting his hand on the girls shoulder. "He still hasn't been able to beat my record so he can't be the best, right? So just go out there and give it all you got."

            These words comforted Sami. She lined her self up at the starting line and got ready. It was a big obstacle course filled with everything from crawling under barbered wire to scaling the wooden wall to walking down a narrow board over a mud pit. Sami smiled, compared to strict running that she was accustomed to this looked more like a playground.

            "Ready?" Hachi called. Sami nodded. "Set… Go!"

            And Sami was off. She sped through the course. She went under, over, and around every obstacle like lightning. Everyone was astonished at her speed except Hachi and Nell who were smiling to themselves. As she went through obstacles she realized how much CO Whip had accidentally improved her abilities while he was attempting to discourage her. As Sami darted across the finish line Hachi hit the button on the stop watch and stared at it.

            "Well I'll be." He murmured to himself in surprise.

            "What is it Sir?" Sami asked as she panted from the strenuous work out.

            "Well you gave me quite a run for my money there! I must say that's the closest anyone has ever gotten to beating my record. Had you gotten across that line a half a second earlier you would have beaten my record!"

            "What!" The boy from the sidelines exclaimed. He marched over to Hachi and stared at the stopwatch. "Are you sure you timed her right!"

            Hachi straightened his stance stood right up to the boy and gave him a down wards look. "Are you questioning my ability to use a stopwatch?"

            "No! No sir!" The boy said quickly and slinked away.

            "What do you think Cap? After all, it was your record that you beat." Hachi called over to Cap.

            Cap looked up in surprise and quickly straightened himself in his chair. He looked up at Sami then at the floor. "I, um… uh, I…"

            Hachi gave a little grin, "Spit it out Cap. Do you think she did better then you?"

            "Well, yeah, after all she did get under the wire really quickly where as I usually have a hard time because of my size. And I don't think I could have gotten up that wall as quickly as she did. So, um, yeah." He gave a quick glance back up at Sami and then returned his gaze to the floor.

            "Very good Cap. I'm glad to see that you can pick out your weaknesses and the strengths of others like that. I think you'll turn out to be not so bad a CO after all."

            "Uh, thank you sir." His cheeks looked like they reddened a little. "May I head out to the caf for lunch now? It's about that time."

            "Sure, you're all dismissed." Hachi sighed as he turned around. Sami caught him say under his breath, "'Wish I could say as well for his people skills though," but she decided not to pursue it.

***

            "Yo! You guys gonna get stop chatting sometime this millennium and help us look around?" Sami called from out near the road.

            "Woops! We better not get her angry. She doesn't like people messing around on the job," Art said as he got up from the tent that he had finished while he was talking.

            "Was that it?" Kannon asked.

            "Of coarse not! There are lots of other things that happened after that. If you're bored later on tonight while we're in the tent I'll tell you. But for now we better get working."

            The troop looked around all day and could come up with nothing. As dusk neared Sami found Double E out near the road. The tall, angular man was staring down the dirt path that had led to the factory.

            "I was wondering if anyone else would notice it." Sami said as she approached him from behind. "I was starting to wonder if I was going crazy.

            "No, ma'am," Double E said. "I will take the liberty to assume that you've asked all the questions I have, such as how many vehicles have came through here since it happened."

            "Yep, I asked him about that. His regiment arrived here on two buses. They sent one back report the incident to HQ. Then we arrived here."

            Double E looked at the road. "Unfortunately that adds up. And the wind factor?"

            "I thought of that too. He says that there is practically no wind that goes through here on account of that mountain." Sami said jerking her thumb towards the giant peak that rose above them.

            "I guess that's why you're the Commanding Officer of this troop, you tend to spot those things."

            "Thank you E."

            "I'm still wondering how they got that thing out of here, though. It's far too big for any amount of copters to be able to tow without crashing into each other, not only that but they would be sure to have awoken the men here."

            "I believe that I have the answer to that, but I'll wait to see if anyone else finds anything."

            No body else did. Mech Mike, Cap, and Ms. Sile had searched the woods for tracks of some kind but found none. Art, Kannon, and Rollover had searched around the edge of the mountain for anything but could find nothing. Wiz Kid had busied himself talking to the troops that were stationed there. He too came up with nothing.

            "So basically we have zip." Wiz Kid summed up.

            "Not true. I had found out many things from studying the map and you all have confirmed it."

            "What!?" Rollover exclaimed. "Are you telling me that you could have told us when we got here what happened and we didn't have to waste the who day looking for nothing!?"

            "No," Sami said flatly. "I needed you all to search as hard as you could because I feared that the map's might not be accurate."

            "So, what did happen," Kannon asked. This was starting to become like a "who dunnit".

            "Well, back while the war was going on I was talking to Sonja trying to gain some more info. She informed me that the Black Hole Army was designing amphibious landers. I---"

            "I don't get it. What does that have to do with anything? We would see the tracks from it. It's not like they could pick it up with a lander anyway."

            Sami's right temple looked like it was going to explode. "Kannon! Do you want to run along side the truck tomorrow!" She screamed at him.

            Kannon shrunk back and quickly said, "No Ma'am."

            "Then don't interrupt me while I am speaking!" She took a deep breath and continued in her normal voice. "Now where was I? Oh, yes. Like I was saying, it turns out that they weren't making them tracked. Instead they were going for something completely different. They were going to make a hover transport. I think that---"

            "A hover transport! Is that really possible?" Kannon interrupted again. 

            "Kannon! That's strike two!"

            "Sorry Ma'am. I'll shut up now."

            "I think that they gave these factories the ability to hover."

            "Do you mean that they put big old jets underneath it when they built it?" Cap asked.

            "Exactly!" Sami said, glad that everyone understood.

            "But wouldn't it make too much noise? I mean to lift something that big would require a really big engine." Rollover pointed out.

            "Not really," Sami said. "I've been inside one before. They are really sound proof. You could be getting shelled and you would never know it. Not only that but since it probably only hover a few inches off the ground the jets were probably up some from the ground and the outside walls of the factory could buffer that sound too."

            "What makes you so sure that it was a hovering capability that allowed it to get away?" Wiz Kid questioned.

            "Because the only tracks that are on the road are tracks from us and the regiment that is stationed here right now. The rest of the road looks like it had never been driven on before. E can vouch for that fact. Not only that but I talked to the CO here and he says that there is hardly any wind up here and I checked the weather archives and there has been no rainfall here. Besides, you guys admitted to finding nothing else." Sami explained.

            "Well if the jets were strong enough to lift that thing and blow away the tracks then why didn't it blow away the regiment too?"

            "Because of those." Sami said pointing. The factory had been at the base of the mountain and six walls separated the factory from two other facilities that were blocked in on either side. "The regiment always stayed in those facilities."

            "So that's it. We can radio HQ in the morning and tell them everything." Ms. Sile said with a yawn as she polished off her glasses. "As for right now I think that we should all get some shut eye. Do you agree Sami?"

            "Sounds like a good idea." Sami agreed.

            Everyone went to their tents to get some sleep. When all was decidedly quiet Kannon sat up and whispered to Art. "Yo, Art."

            "Yeah Kannon?" Art said from the darkness.

            Kannon was surprised that Art was still up. He reached over and turned on a small lantern that lay beside him. "You said you would tell me some more about what Sami did to all of a sudden become a top ranking CO."

            "Do you really need to be told even after what she did today? I think that pretty much explains everything."  
            "Well sure that covers her ability to plan and second-guess the enemy, and from that story you told earlier today does show she's a lot quicker than Cap. It's just that I don't see how she could ever be better than Cap. I mean, after all Cap looks like he was made to be a CO and Sami, well, she just looks like some kid that was picked up and put in command."

            "Fine, I'll tell you about The Skirmish."  
            "What?"

            "Just hush and keep quiet."


	5. Chapter 4: War Field

Chapter 5  War Field 

            After lunch Hachi and Nell led Sami over to a bus that was parked near the SF Training Room. All the other guys she had seen inside the Training Room were already on board and talking to each other. Cap was sitting on the aisle side of the front right seat and the guy who had boasted about Caps record sat next to him. Hachi looked at the rows. There was an open seat in the second left hand seat.

            "Renegade, would you be so courteous as to let Sami take your seat and move over to Mach's seat." Everybody got quiet and stared up at Sami.

            Renegade, the guy who was sitting next to Cap, was dumbfounded. He stumbled over his words as he tried to argue. "Sir… I… I mean… But…" He stopped and took a breath. "But sir, don't we go by rank?"

            "Yes we do Ren. I'm your Commanding Officer and I just asked you to move your seat."

            "But Sir! That's not fair!" Ren complained.

            "Ren! Stop your bellyaching! You just failed Ren."

            Ren stopped whining and looked up with the same amazed face he used when Hachi had asked him the first time. "What was that Sir?"

            "Ren. When you first got here I told you I'd give you a test sometime during your career here. I've been noticing that you have had a problem with undermining my authority. If you don't shape up you'll never become a valued part of a Special Forces squad. Now get over there or I'll make you run alongside the bus."

            Ren moved his seat and eventually the bus started up and everyone began talking again. Hachi soon began to explain what was going to happen.

            "You see we have this huge training field out here, and when I say huge I mean it. It's one of the biggest training facilities in the world. In fact Yellow Comet's the only country that has topped it. We go there once a week and practice different kinds of situations that you'll be facing in real life. Every once in awhile we have a crew go out there and change it up a little. You're lucky; the field was just changed yesterday so nobody will have any advantage. If you make it through the SF training and become a full-blown CO you can register in the War room in the Octagon for a session on the field." The bus slowed to the stop. "Well it looks like it's time to get organized," he got up and stretched then called to the rest of the bus. "Alright guys! Lets go!"

            Everyone got off the bus and lined up. Sami went over and stood right next Cap. Cap looked down uneasily. What was she doing at the front of the line? Cap was sure the only reason Hachi had asked Ren to move was so that Hachi could talk to Sami. She wasn't actually going to replace Ren, was she?

            Hachi looked over and saw Sami standing next to Cap. "Uh, Sami."

            "Yes sir."

            "In case you didn't hear Ren, we go by rank order. So would you please move to the end of the line while I take roll."

            "Sir, yes sir!" Sami said and gladly turned and began to move to the end of the line. Ren bent his head down and to the side a little so that he could see her.

            "Yeah scrub. Get to the back of the line, that way when you fail this next test we won't have any spaces to fill," he muttered to Sami in a sour tone as she pasted behind him. He then spit at the ground in front of Sami as she walked on. 

            Cap overheard him say it and saw him spit and he did something he never expected himself to do; he swung and landed a huge fist in Ren's back. Screamed in pain and fell to his knees. Everyone turned to what the commotion was about. Cap looked around fearfully, how was he supposed to get out of this one. More importantly, though, how did he end up in this predicament? He turned to see Hachi look up from his clipboard.

            "Is there a problem boys?" He asked.

            Cap quickly bent down and picked Ren up. "Uh, no Sir! I saw a mosquito on Ren's back and I guess I sort of forgot my own strength."

            Everyone chuckled; it was just like Cap to do something like that. Well, everyone chuckled except Ren. He stared at Cap in anger. He knew that it sure wasn't a mosquito that Cap had aimed to hit. Cap quickly averted his eyes over to Sami to see if she had noticed. She gave a little thank you smile and moved on. Had he done the right thing? He felt good but… Oh who was he kidding, Ren obviously had not learned from Hachi so as the highest ranked private there he was obligated to help reinforce it. Right?

            Hachi went through the call and finally ended with Sami. He then called Sami and Ren up to the front. Sami was clueless as to why but Ren seemed to understand what was happening.

            "Do I really have to fight with a scrub Hachi?" He asked. Hachi shot him a glance and Ren quickly corrected himself. "Sir."

            "Yes Ren and if you don't watch it she'll probably switch places with you in line."

            "Yes Sir."

            "Okay Sami, did you have a chance to look at that sheet I gave you after you finished the written exam," Hachi said turning to Sami.

            "Yes Sir!" Sami said cheerfully.

            "So you have in mind some of the guys that you want to pick."

            "Yes Sir!"

            "Alright, you may chose first. Is that alright with you Ren."

            "It don't matter to me." Ren said.

            "Doesn't." Sami whispered.

            "What was that!" Ren asked. 

            "Sorry," Sami blushed a little, "I have this habit of correcting peoples grammar."

            Ren glared at Sami, "Pick!"  
            "Cool down a little bit Ren. Oh yeah, one more thing, neither of you can pick Cap. I'd like him to sit out and help me judge on this one."

            "Oh," Sami said disappointedly. She pulled a piece of paper out of her pocket. It was the list that Hachi had given her the other day. She took a pen out and crossed off Cap's name, which was circled, then ran down the list and circled another name.

            Ren peaked at the list of circled names and laughed. Those are who you want!? Go ahead! You can have them all! I have no idea why you would want them but by all means take them! I'll have the other six."

            Hachi looked at the list the circles were spaced out for the most part but several of them were towards the bottom of the fourteen-person list. "Are you sure those are the ones that you want?" He asked. 

            "Yep!" Sami confirmed.

            "Alright, it's your fight." Hachi said rather confused. "Art, Mike, Ronald, Arnold, Sile, and Fred you're on Sami's team. You other six are on Ren's."

            Three guys stepped out of line towards the front and three stepped out towards the end. The first set looked proud and experienced while the second just plain looked confused. They couldn't for the life of them figure out why they had been picked. They couldn't do as much as the others, though they did pride them selves in what they could do. 

            The two teams got on two different hummers and headed off in two directions. While on the bus everyone introduced themselves; Art added a P.G. to the end of his name and then introduced his "little" brother Mech-Mike, Ronald told Sami that he would prefer to be called Rollover, Arnold established that he was a sniper, and finally the Ms. Sile and Fred A.K.A Wizkid.

            Mike was the first one to question Sami's choice, "You know Sami, this is actually the first time Wizkid, Ms. Sile, and I have ever been picked and frankly I think you may have made a mistake."

            "Why's that?" Sami asked.

            "Because there's not a lot that we can do. All the other guys are great at everything and can accomplish a lot more than us. I know that if I were a CO I would not choose me. I'm horrible with a regular handgun; I don't think I could hit the broad side of a barn with one. I only do good with the heavy guns because I don't need to be too accurate, I just pull the trigger, ya know?"

            "And what about the others?"

            Ms. Sile shot Mike a look and Mike quickly corrected what could have been implied, "Not that Sile's not good at what she does, it's just that normally we don't have any missiles on the field. So it doesn't exactly help to have her with us." Ms. Sile scooted towards Mike. "Not to say she isn't really good at everything else. And," he began to whisper to Sami, "frankly I don't even see the point of having Wizkid on any team. After all this is war and it's not like the tanks are computerized, so what would having a hacker on the team add?"

            "Well perhaps you'll see it differently by the time we finish this battle," Sami said looking through her sunglasses into the rearview mirror where Wizkid was busy staring at the scenery as it passed.

            When the team got to their HQ they began breaking out the equipment while Sammy went inside and studied the map. The map was labeled Duo Falls and it had modified in parentheses next to it. It was a predeployed map and Sami's team was presented with a Md. Tank, T copter, Artillery, and APC. Sami couldn't tell what the other team had, but she figured it'd be best to hide the Artillery, Md. Tank, and Mech-Mike in the forests that lined the road towards the bottom of the map. Before that they would have dropped Ms. Sile off at the silo that stood next to a run down base. Rollover would do best in the tank and Double E could probably use the Artillery.

            Sami noticed 2 sets of mountains on either side of the road and on both sides of an old airport. That's where she would send Art with the APC. There he could rig up some explosives to slow down the enemy and perhaps damage them as well.

            "We're all done unloading everything Ma'am," Wizkid said.

            "Good."

***

            Sami explained her plan on the way to the various locations. Wizkid had stayed back at base to help keep the updated. Ms. Sile was ready to target the enemy as soon as it came into view, as were Mike, Rollover, and Double E. Art was finishing up planting the explosives and Sami took up a lookout post on top of a nearby mountain.

            It was starting to get dark and most of the people were getting board of waiting. They had put their walky-talkies on different frequency as to not bother each other. Sami could hear Double E, Mike, and Rollover playing cards over the radio when she tuned into their frequency, Art was singing show tunes to pass the time, and Ms. Sile was watching a small T.V. she had found in the main building. If it wasn't for the constant clicking of the keyboard Sami would never have known the Wizkid was still there. She felt kind of bad that she had left him back at the HQ with nothing to do. She wanted to some how prove that he was of use to the team but the truth was that she was starting to doubt his usefulness as well. She decided to start a conversation with the quiet kid to see if he could shed some light on his abilities.

            "You still awake over there Kid?" She asked the walky-talky.

            She heard Wizkid jump at the sudden sound that had come from nowhere. "Uh, ye-ye-yes Ma'am!" he responded. 

            "Ya haven't cleaned out the ration box yet, have you?" Sami joked.

            Sami heard Wizkid take a deep breath of relief. Apparently he had thought that he had done something wrong, "No ma'am."

            "What are you doing right now?"

            "I'm trying to hack into the Orange Star army's spy satellite so that we can figure out what the other team has."

            "Isn't that sorta illegal?"

            "Hachi is always telling us that all is fair in love and war." Wizkid offered.

            "So he'll be alright with it?"

            "Yeah. They'll probably call him first before coming done here."

            "Yo! Sami!" Art called over the walky-talky.

            "Yeah Art?" She replied.

            "I've been trying to get a hold of you. A recon unit passed my way a minute ago. I don't think that they saw me but he's heading your way."

            "Thanks for the heads-up Art. Wait for a Md. Tank before you set off the charges. And keep at it Wizkid. I would appreciate knowing what we're up against."

            Sami put down the walky-talky and picked up her gun. The recon came down the road at a leisurely speed. Sami was about to blast it when she realized something. She put the gun down and picked up the walky-talky again and tuned into Mech-mike, Rollover, and Double E's frequency.

            "Tune into Art's frequency everyone," she said. She repeated the message to Wizkid and Ms. Sile.

            "Listen everyone, ignore the little recon that's traveling around. Don't let it know that you are where you are. Can you see the main force yet, Art?"

            "Not yet."

            "Alright. Follow through with the plan then high tail it out of there. Once Art's done his job the rest of their team should be backed up behind the first vehicle. Once that happens and Art takes the APC to get out of the way, I want you to launch the missile, ok Ms. Sile? After that you guys down bottom should probably have no problem with them when they get down to you. Don't worry I'll give you a heads up. After that, we can all go back home and celebrate." A little cheer followed from most of the group.

            A few moments later Art glimpsed a Md. Tank go over the bridge that connected the central island to the enemy's land. He readied himself to set off the explosives and make a run for it. The Md. Tank stopped at a little roadblock that Art had set up and prepared to blast it away. Just as Art pressed the button for the explosions Sami heard Wizkid gasp.

            Baboom! The mountainside was blown away on both sides of the street and the rocks came tumbling down on the unexpectant Md. Tank. Art cheered and started running cheerfully down the mountain towards the APC.

            "Art! Get out of there! Run faster! Quicker, quicker!" Wizkid yelled.

            "Listen, Wizkid. I know you're like some kind of super genius, but I really don't think that I need to run any faster. Sile's not going to launch the missile until I'm out of the way and it's not like that Md. Tank is going to leaving anytime soon. How about you just let me enjoy my little demo," Art said.

            "No! No! It's not Ms. Sile. It's-"

            Art heard a noise overhead before Wizkid had finished his sentence. A rocket was beginning it's decent down towards where Art stood. Art ran as fast as he could, screaming the whole way. He jumped off a five foot cliff just as the rocket exploded behind him. Rocks rained down around him as he got the APC and opened up the driver-side door. He turned the key but the engine refused to start. Suddenly he saw a low frequency laser hit the ground beside him. He looked up and saw the recon unit firing from down the street. The recon was soon in close enough range that it could fire without missing. Art looked at the computer screen that was to the right of the steering wheel. It was displaying the amount of damage left until it would shut down and register the vehicle as destroyed. The vehicle was about to be destroyed when out of the blue a laser was fired from a nearby forest and hit the gunner in the recon. The gunner's gun was disabled and the computer in the APC registered that a player had been eliminated. Another shot was fired from the woods and the driver was eliminated as well. Art was expecting Double E to come out of the woods but instead it was Sami. Art was surprised that she could shoot that well.

            "Come on!" she yelled as she commandeered the enemy vehicle.

            Art jumped out of the APC and had barely made it to the passenger seat when Sami took off. Art struggled to sit upright as Sami pushed the recon to its top speeds.

            "What's going on?" Art asked over the sound of the wind as the recon fish tailed around the corner heading west.

            "Wizkid was able to hack into the Army's Satellite and was able to take a better look at the field," Sami yelled back.

            "Is that legal?"

            Sami shrugged. "Well it turns out that the enemy has somehow obtained more vehicles. Wizkid says that have three Md. Tanks and a Rocket."

            Art went pail. "How the heck are we supposed to beat all that with just Mech-Mike, Rollover and his tank, and Double E's Artillery unit?" he asked.

            "We can't," Sami stated.

            "Then how are we going to win?"

            Sami turned to Art, "Ya know, there's more than one way to skin a cat."

            Sami and Art arrived back at the HQ a few minutes later. They jumped out of the recon and were greeted by Rollover.

            "Everyone's here," he told her. "Ms. Sile shot off the missile before she left so that should slow them down a bit."

            Sami walked over to where the group was standing. Everybody seemed ready and willing, that was good.

            "Alright, does anyone know how to pilot a T-Copter?" Sami asked.

            Everybody looked at each other and mumbled no's. Then a voice came from behind Rollover. Everyone turned in his direction and he stepped aside to see who it was himself.

            "I know how to fly a T-copter," Wizkid repeated.

            Sami smiled. "Alright then. Looks like we have ourselves a pilot. Everyone into the T-Copter."

            "One problem with that Ma'am," Wizkid said.

            "What's that?"

            "We don't have enough room for everyone."

            Everyone stopped moving and everyone was quiet.

            "What do you mean?" Sami asked.

            "T-Copters are designed to hold five infantry or mech units and one pilot. Right know we have one pilot and _six_ infantry/mech units," he explained.

            Sami looked around. Could it really be true? There was Ms. Sile, Rollover, Mech-mike, Double E, Art, and herself. He was right, there really were six. That meant that someone…

            "I'll do it," said the solemn voice of Double E.

            Rollover looked at him. "What do you mean," he asked his friend.

            "I'll stay back, you'll need the rest of the force to take over the enemy HQ."

            "I'll stay back too," Rollover volunteered.

            "No," Double E said. "They'll need you back at the base incase they left some protection back there. Don't worry, I can take care of my self."

            Sami looked at Double E for a moment then smiled. "Good luck," she said to him then turned back to the rest of the group. "Come on! Get into that T-Copter! We don't have all night here people!"

            Everybody loaded into the T-Copter and Wizkid started up the propellers. They began to rise then the copter jerked forward a bit. Everyone looked up at Wizkid in surprise. His face turned a dark crimson.

            "Sorry about that," he apologized. "It's, uh, been a while since I flew one of these things."

            Mech-Mike let his head fall against the window. "We're going to die," he murmured pessimistically as Wizkid turned and headed south.

            The quiet Double E couldn't help but grin when he saw the helicopter jerk from side to side as it headed away. "That kid will save our hide for real one day," he foretold. He then turned and headed with his trusty rifle into a patch of woods near the HQ.

***

            Sami and the rest of the group stalked towards the enemy HQ cautiously. They had stashed the T-Copter a while back to keep from drawing attention to themselves. They finally made it to a patch of woods that was within spitting range of the HQ. Here they began to make a plan for getting inside the HQ.

            As expected a Md. Tank had been left there to guard the HQ. Sami had got some intel on the HQ from Wizkid on the way there. She decided that the best course of action was to separate into two different groups. Mech-Mike, Rollover, and Art would stage a diversion around front of the HQ to keep the Md. Tank distracted. While this was going on she, Wizkid, and Ms. Sile would run into the HQ through the back door. The Md. Tank would hopefully not hear the alarm because of Mech-Mike and the others. Wizkid would turn off the security system as quick as possible and then he and the rest of the team would capture the HQ.

            So after confirming what was going on Mech-Mike's team set off to accomplish their mission. Using the woods as cover they made their way to the HQ. The watchman, who Art identified as Ed, was currently on look out duty in the front of the base. Art peered around the corner of the HQ to attempt to find something to use as a diversion. He spotted a bunch of stacked oilcans a couple of feet from him.

            _Bingo_, Art thought then turned to Mech-Mike and Rollover and explained his plan. "You two go around the other side. When you get there give a little wave while Ed isn't looking. I'll blow those oilcans and while he's distracted, hijack the Md. Tank."

            Mech-Mike and Roll over agreed to the plan. They made it around the back to the other side of the HQ and signaled Art. Art, mean while had used his hands to make a tiny makeshift canal to the cover of the woods. He had then proceeded to poke a hole in the tank. The liquid poured out into the canal and down to a small hole. When Art was signaled he took a match out and dropped it into the oil. The fire moved quickly down the line and into the can. The can then exploded causing the others to blow up. The ed ran over to the fire and tried to think of a way to put it out. Rollover, meanwhile, had hopped into the tank and aimed it at Ed.

            "Yo! Ed! Surrender or get blasted!" Rollover called out.

            Ed dropped the gun he was carrying and put up his hands.

            Sami's team had moved in and had disarmed the alarm. To simulate the capture of an HQ, a player or players had to go to each room and press a switch. These switches were sometimes guarded by automated defense guns to symbolize that some of the residents of the HQ could be armed. This was all too easy for Sami's team though because Wizkid had "accidentally" gone to the main control room, hacked the computer, and turned everything off. Sami was not accustomed to how you captured a base on the War Field so when Wizkid told her that all they had to do was to hit a couple buttons on the computer she really had no reason to doubt him. Ms. Sile turned the other way.

            When they met back at their base in victory they found all four of the members who were not accounted for sitting around. Double E sat close by reading a novel in silence.

            "What happened?" Sami asked as she walked up.

            "Your sniper shot us all in the backs," Renegade complained angrily as he jerked his thumb at Eagle Eye. Ren seemed to be the only one angry about it; the rest of his group just gave a shrug. "It was so unfair! He wasn't even manly enough to give us a heads up before doing it," he turned towards Double E. "The truth is that he's just a little girl when it comes to real combat. He's too much of a wuss to face us like a man!"

            Ren's girl comment infuriated Sami. "Are you insinuating that we females are the weaker sex!" Sami yelled at him and grabbed him by the shirt. Nobody tried to stop Sami, they knew Ren had this coming to him. Ren suddenly turned yellow and tried to talk his way out of it but Sami cut him off before he could get out his second word. "For your information, Ren, there have been women in this world who are a hundred time's braver and stronger than you are. I'd like to see you take on Ms. Nell! You know she's one of the highest-ranking CO's in the world. Pretty soon she'll be the commander of the whole entire Orange Star Army. You know that! And guess what, you were just beat by a girl!" Sami started huffing and puffing from her tirade, which gave Ren a chance to beg for forgiveness before she bashed his face in.

            "Please! I'm sorry! I wasn't thinking! I-" he started to say.

            "That's right! You weren't thinking! And you know I've noticed that that's a real problem you have! 'You think that maybe if you shut your trap once and a while instead of going off you might just learn something instead of being demoted!"

            Double E chuckled a little to himself and Art whispered to his brother, "Listen, if I ever think about saying something like Ren said, duck tape my mouth."

            The memory of the embarrassment on the buss came back alive in Ren's head and he began seeing red. To him Double E was laughing full out at him and Art was talking about him, saying how much of an idiot he was. Ren could not stand it. Against the better judgment that he had stashed away somewhere in the back of his mind he pulled his fist back and socked Sami. She fell backwards a couple feet and everyone started to take a step forward to come to her aid and restrain Ren.

            "Stop!" Sami commanded holding her hand up. She spit a little bit of blood onto the ground and stood up. "If I am to be treated as an equal I will first have to prove myself as one."

            Sami readied herself. Ren was going to make sure he made her know where she belonged, and that was back as an errand girl.

            Ren ran forward and swung. Sami ducked and then jumped straight up with her fist in the air. Her fist connected with the underside of Ren's chin and sent him flying up and back. Ren landed on his back with severe pain. He then stood up minus a tooth. He was not about to let some new girl who was younger than him ruin everything he had worked for. He approached Sami more slowly this time. He swung and Sami sidestepped it. She went to punch him but he used his momentum to spin and raise his foot. He struck Sami in the stomach and she doubled over. She felt the same way Ren did so she got up and went on the offensive. She swung a left-right, which Ren ducked under. He was going to use Sami's openness as an advantage but Sami brought her knee up into his face before he had a chance. He gripped his face for a few seconds while he stumbled around a little stunned. When he removed his hands he nose appeared to be in pretty bad shape but his eyes screamed bloody murder. He charged at Sami in blind rage. She jumped sideways out of the way. Before she had a chance to do anything Ren changed direction and sacked Sami like a pro football player. He shoved his knee into her stomach so she couldn't get up. She tried to use her hands to shove him off her but he grabbed one and pinned it to the ground. He pulled back his free hand and brought it down towards Sami's face. She jerked her head to the side just in time then shoved her fingers into his neck. He gripped his throat with both hands which let Sami's other hand free. She grabbed Ren's shirt and yanked him forward. He fell off-balanced and started to fall forward. Sami used the momentum to flip Ren onto his back and bring herself with him. This left the two in complete opposite places. Sami pulled back her fist and brought it down. Ren closed his eyes as her fist was about to go into his face. But that never came. Sami knew that if she went through with it that she would be just as bad as Ren. Besides She was safe and now had the power, but if she were to use that moment to beat the living stuffing out of Ren then the only thing she could expect was for him to retaliate. Ren could feel Sami's weight come off his chest and as he opened his eyes he saw her reaching down to him.

            "Come on," she said sounding a bit worn out. She knew that it was, in part, her fault for it all. She had been the one who had let her anger overwhelm her in the first place. But that was no excuse, even if Ren really had needed a talking to. She had proven that she was one of them and now all she wanted to do was help a fellow comrade out.

            Ren didn't see it quite the same way. To him it would be an insult to take help from the enemy, and that's what Sami was to Ren now. He knew he would never be able to live it down. By taking her hand he would be giving up every once of dignity and pride he had. He was not about to do that. He was not about to be pitied. 

            He shoved Sami's hand away and got up on by his own strength. He didn't spare Sami a glance, turning and walking away with whatever dignity he could muster.

            Nobody except Eagle Eye had noticed the jeep containing Hachi and Cap drive up a few minutes before. They had all been too preoccupied with the fight and Double D didn't bother to stop the fight because he knew how much it meant to Sami that she be treated as an equal.

            Now that it was all over Hachi finally decided to speak up. "Are ya all done?" he asked.

            Everyone except Double E jumped ten feet in the air, Sami and Ren especially. They began trying to explain at the same time.

            "I'm sorry Hachi sir. I just," Sami began.

            "It was her fault not mine," Ren said at the same time.

            Hachi put his hand up and both of them stopped. "Alright, Alright! No need for apologies or excuses! It seems to me that what ever issue had been started here has been resolved and I think it's about time he all headed back for some rest." Sami and Ren exhaled, glad that they weren't going to be booted out of the program. But Hachi continued. "But just because I'm letting you all stay doesn't mean that I'm letting you off the hook entirely. First off, I don't want to see anything like that again with out my approval first, and secondly Sami, Ren, Wizkid, and Alex will all be serving and preparing the rest of you your meals for the next couple of weeks as well as breaking down and cleaning every piece of equipment we use and when their done I'm sure that they would love to install a new satellite dish for my office and recarpet the entire SF complex."

            All the named groaned except for Sami. Instead she asked, "Is that it?" in a sincere voice. Compared to Vip's various assignments, this would be cake.

            "Do you want more work?" Hachi asked.

            Wizkid clamped his hand over Sami's mouth. "No sir," he answered for her, "I think that's enough."


End file.
